Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Do You Qualify for a Psychiatric Service Dog?

Service dogs
helps people with all kinds of disabilities, including psychiatric
disabilities like post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder
and schizophrenia. I have post-traumatic stress disorder and received
a service dog, a yellow lab named Isaac, a little over a year ago.
Not everyone with a psychiatric condition qualifies for a service
dog, however. To qualify for a psychiatric service dog, you must be
disabled by your condition and there must be tasks a dog can be
trained to do to mitigate your disability.

Are You
Disabled?

To qualify for a
service dog, you must be disabled according to the definition given
in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which says a disability
is a condition that significantly limits your ability to perform
basic life activities, like seeing, hearing, walking, thinking and
communicating. PTSD causes me to have significant difficulty thinking
and communicating at times. Note that you might qualify for Society
Security disability and still not be disabled according to the ADA.
On the other hand, you might be able to work and therefore not
qualify for Social Security disability but still be disabled under
the ADA definition and therefore still qualify for a psychiatric
service dog. Talk to your doctor or therapist if you aren’t sure if
you are disabled according to the ADA definition.

Can
a Dog Be Trained to Do Tasks to Mitigate Your Disability?

Think
about what things you are unable to do for yourself because of your
psychiatric condition. Some of the things I was unable to do because
of my PTSD included remembering to take my anxiety medication when I
have an anxiety attack (normally I am able to take my medication on
my own but during an anxiety attack, I can’t think clearly and just
forget to take it unless someone reminds me) and walking into a dark
room. Your doctor or therapist can help you make a list of things you
can’t do on your own.

Once
you have a list of things you cannot do for yourself, think about how
someone else (human, dog, robot, whatever) could do them for you or
help you do them. For instance, my service dog is trained to bring my
medication to me when I start to have an anxiety attack (he knows to
do that when he sees signs that I am getting increasingly anxious,
like crying, rocking back and forth, clenching my fists, and
breathing harder than normal) and to turn on lights. If you’re not
sure if a dog could be trained to do the things you need done, talk
to a dog trainer about that.

Keep
in mind the fact that a service dog must be trained to do specific
tasks to mitigate your disability. According to the U.S. Department
of Justice, providing emotional support or comfort isn’t considered
a trained task. For instance, when I feel anxious, petting Isaac
makes me feel calmer. That’s not a trained task, though. If he
wasn’t trained to do specific tasks to mitigate my disability, like
bringing me medication and turning on lights, he would not be a
service dog.

Other
Things to Consider

In
order to qualify for a psychiatric service dog, you need to be able
to care for a dog, of course. Can you afford the cost of dog food,
toys, veterinary care and other supplies? Does your psychiatric
condition make it difficult to handle daily tasks like feeding,
walking and grooming a dog? If you need to be hospitalized for a
short time, who would take care of your service dog?

If
anxiety is part of your condition, how will you feel going out in
public with a service dog? People often stare at people with service
dogs and sometimes ask personal questions or make rude comments. How
will you handle any access disputes? If an employee tells you that
you can’t bring your dog into a restaurant or store, will you be
able to remain calm? You can discuss these issues with your
therapist.